The Outdoor Industry Association Government Affairs team represents the outdoor industry’s interests in the legislative and policy development process. OIA works to promote trade legislation, funding for outdoor recreation and management policies on public lands that support active recreation.
Trade
The outdoor industry produces some of the most innovative products in the world; merchandise which reaches all corners of the globe and enriches people’s lives by supporting healthy and active lifestyles through outdoor recreation. Open, equitable and predictable trade is essential for our industry’s continued innovation and economic growth.
Predictable trade policy results in lower costs to consumers, and ensures continued product innovations. OIA’s Trade program works to reduce import duties, protect outdoor products from quotas, and ensure competitive access to new and emerging markets.
These measures result in greater prosperity and uninterrupted production processes for outdoor industry businesses and better availability of product at a better price for the outdoor industry customer.
Footwear tariffs eliminated
In 2006, Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) achieved two major trade victories for the outdoor industry. Congress passed trade legislation containing several OIA-crafted provisions that would eliminate import tariffs on certain kinds of athletic footwear. In addition, lawmakers granted permanent normalized trade relations (PNTR) for Vietnam. Both were top priorities for this first year of the OIA trade program.
The twelve footwear tariff relief measures will apply to certain footwear that incorporates a laminated or coated textile fabric. Ten eliminate tariff rates on these products, some as high as 37.5 percent, and two would reduce tariff rates to 12.8 and 15.2 percent.
OIA also worked in conjunction with several members and a broad coalition of American businesses from a variety of industries to advocate for Vietnam's permanent trade status. There is more than $100 million worth of manufacturing of outdoor products in Vietnam. The new trade legislation makes it easier for U.S. companies to do business there.
OIA's trade agenda for next year includes working on additional tariff relief measures for other outdoor products.
Active Outdoor Recreation Access
OIA Government Affairs also works to ensure that there are quality recreation experiences on public lands in communities throughout the U.S. One third of all of America’s lands are managed by the federal government, so the continuous voice of recreation at the national level is essential.
OIA provides this voice by lobbying for increased funding for National Parks, Forest Service and BLM lands.
Stateside Land and Water Conservation Fund
OIA knows that when there are parks, greenways, playgrounds and trail systems within reach of their homes, people exercise more. The Stateside Land and Water Conservation Fund provides federal matching grants for state and local parks and trails.
OIA has made the Stateside LWCF program a top priority because of its importance in providing close-to-home recreation opportunities for all Americans and the role local parks play in promoting an active outdoor lifestyle. In 2006, Congress approved a Permanent Funding Source for the Stateside Land and Water Conservation Fund (State LWCF).
For the first-time, this precedent-setting legislation establishes a direct and permanent source of funding for the Stateside LWCF that will not be subject to the whims of the appropriations process. Funds directed to state parks and trails would be small in the initial years but could reach more than $125 million a year by 2017 and as much as $215 million a year after that.
Stateside LWCF is an immensely popular program in local communities and has underwritten the development of more than 40,000 state and local park and recreation projects in 98% of the counties in the United States.
The Stateside LWCF program has 41 years of strong success as one of America's most effective federal/state recreation and conservation partnership programs.
